The Final Act
by FireLionHeart
Summary: Pepper finds out that Natasha and Tony have betrayed her in the worst way they could. How could they do this to her!
1. Rude Greetings

**Chapter 1**

**Ok, so while trying to decide which story I wanted to work on next I remembered that poll thing I did where I asked who else would be a good fit with Natasha besides Clint and Loki, Tony won, so I figured that I would write a story about the two of them. However, if you hang in there it might not be what you expect. **

**Of course I don't own Avengers…blah…blah…blah**

It was a particularly bad day at the office and by the time Pepper Potts reached the floor she shared with her boyfriend she was ready to collapse. She was hoping to spend some of the night with Tony. Hoping that maybe they could open a bottle of wine, have a quick dinner, watch a movie, and then go snuggle up in their bed and fall asleep. That's what she was hoping for as she finally was able to slip off her new heels that had been bothering her for the best part of the day. It was a relief to have the things off her feet. The coolness of the hardwood floor actually felt good as she made her was further into the apartment.

She travelled through the living room and down the hallway, doing a quick once over in search of her boyfriend. She glanced in his office and saw no sign of him. Then the light coming from under her bedroom door caught her attention and she moved towards it.

"Tony," she called softly. As she walked she reached up and took out her hair clip and shook out the hair that had been up for long enough then reached for the door. "Hey Tony I…" Upon walking in the room she had expected him to maybe be messing around on his laptop, or maybe tinkering with some electrical device, or hell even reading something. What she did expect him to be doing however, was to be standing in the middle of the room with his arms wrapped around, and his lips all over, another woman. Not just any woman either, that's right, Natasha Romanoff was standing there making out with Tony Stark. Tony, with Natasha, in their bedroom. She felt all off the color drain from her face as all of their eyes met each other's. It was like time had stopped for a moment and all they could do was stare at each other, they still had their arms wrapped around each other.

"Pepper," of course Tony would be the first to speak. The two of them separated and Tony ran his hands through his hair like he always did when he got nervous. Natasha simply stared back at her. Pepper didn't reply to him. She finally snapped out of whatever trance she was put in and felt the anger rushing up inside of her like a furnace about to explode. She shifted a glare that would rival the Black Widow's from Tony to the woman herself. Before she really knew what she was doing she was moving. Without caring that the woman standing in front of her was, in fact, a deadly ex-Russian spy that could kill her in more ways than she cared to know, she lifted her hand in the air and struck as hard as she could. Tony's eyes widened in shock as he watched the younger woman's head jerked sideways from the force of the hit. When she righted herself there was a large, red, handprint on the side of her face. To her credit though she hadn't made a sound.

"Get out," Pepper said with an angered coldness in her voice. She looked from Natasha to Tony and the hardness he saw there was not meant to be in his girlfriend, well, he guessed ex-girlfriend's eyes.

"Pepper," he repeated and took a step towards her.

"No!" She yelled and took a step back. "Get out! Now! Take that thing with you and get out!" She yelled at him.

"Please I…"

"What Tony," she snapped at him "just forget that I just saw you all over one of my best friends?!" She turned to Natasha again. "How could you! I knew I shouldn't have trusted you! You're nothing, just…just a monster! That's all you'll ever be, a monster who only knows how to ruin other people's lives!" Natasha remained quiet as Pepper screamed at her. She didn't say anything so Pepper turned back to Tony. "How could you do this to me?" She said in a voice that was more than angry, it was hurt. "I loved you."

"Pepper…"

"She doesn't love you." She glanced over at Natasha then back to Tony "I'm not sure she even knows how but I do hope you enjoy yourself, but don't think you can come back to me when she's through with you and goes on to the next man who falls for her trap." She said bitterly. "You know what," she said when Tony didn't respond. "I'll leave, it's not like it's my tower." She turned then and felt the beginnings of her tears burning to be set free.

"Pepper…" Tony called out softly but she ignored him and slammed the door shut.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as the door closed with a loud bang. He rubbed his hands over his eyes in frustration then looked over to where Natasha stood, still silent and staring where Pepper was standing just a moment ago. "Hey, you ok?" She seemed to snap out of it and looked to him with a small, somewhat sad, smile that was meant to reassure him.

"I'm fine, you?" He sighed and took a seat on his bed.

"She's really pissed off." He said and she nodded from where she stood. "We hurt her." Natasha moved then and slowly got down to her knees in front of where Tony sat. She looked up at him with her big green eyes and took his hands in her own.

"It's going to be ok Tony." She said softly and gave his hands a gentle squeeze. He gave her the same type of smile she had given him and squeezed back.

"I didn't want to do that to her," he said after a brief pause.

"Me neither," she said looking down at their hands. "But we knew it would happen eventually."

"Yeah," he said then looked up which prompted her to do the same "do you really think it will all be ok. That this will work out?" Natasha looked at him and saw the vulnerability that most people didn't get to see in Tony Stark. She was both honored and scared that she was one of the people he trusted to allow that kind of emotion to be displayed.

"Yes, I really think it will," she said with a nod. Tony then took it upon himself to entwine their fingers together.

"You're not a monster Natasha," he said with a serious look. "Ok?" She didn't answer him, only looked down at their hands again. "Ok?" He said a bit louder and squeezed her hand again. She looked up then and gave him a nod. It would have to do. "So, what now my little Russian princess?"

**Ok, don't kill me guys, stick around and see what happens….please? Anyways, I'm thinking this'll probably be about three chapters maybe four, it won't be very long because I've got more that I want to work on. **


	2. Did You Even Care

**Chapter 2**

The following day both Tony and Natasha agreed that they had to tell the team. As it turned out, that after Pepper had walked in on them she had ran into Steve as she was leaving. When he asked her what was wrong she had explained the situation with a strained voice before the tears started free flowing. He paid for the hotel room himself. Steve had told Bruce who was making some tea. Thor had been there too and listened as he was making himself some pop tarts, the only time he had burned them since learning to work the toaster. Clint informed them that he already knew as well and sent a heated look their way before he left the rest of the group standing there awkwardly.

Bruce was the first to walk away. He was never much for drama and he was a bit disappointed in the two of them for hurting Pepper and Clint like they had. Thor shared the same feelings and left as well, saying something about wanting to visit with Jane. That left Steve standing there. Usually he wasn't one to get into other people's business either but he couldn't help himself. He was after all the one who had held Pepper as she broke down.

"Let me just ask you two a question," he had said when the others left "was it worth it?" Neither of them said anything, it's not like he expected an answer and when met with their silence he too left them there on their own.

The next day Pepper arrived to start moving out her stuff. Neither Tony nor Natasha said a word to her. In fact, they went to Natasha's floor as if pretending she wasn't there. It was more because that's what they thought she wanted them to do and they weren't too far off with that assumption. She asked if Steve and Bruce would help her when she came back for heavier things like her desk, bookshelf, and other random things. They agreed and she informed them that she would return in a few days. She had accepted a work project that was taking place in Japan and wouldn't be back for at least three days. After that she would decide about the whole working situation. She didn't want to work with Stark Industries after what had happened but at the same time she loved her job. After exchanging a few more words they said their goodbyes and she headed out.

It was weird for everyone else to see Natasha and Tony together. After Pepper had left for Japan they seemed to relax into each other perfectly fine, as if they didn't just tear apart the hearts of two people. No one had seen Clint since the morning they had tried to talk to the group. That left Steve, Bruce, and Thor to sit and watch them together. Mostly it was Bruce and Steve because Thor was spending more and more time at Jane's.

For the next three days Tony and Natasha walked around the tower together without a care in the world. Steve and Bruce watched as they even moved some of Tony's stuff up to Natasha's floor, small stuff but still. It was unreal to them, like Clint and Pepper would suddenly jump out and say gottcha before running back to their respective partners. It just wasn't right to see how much in love Tony and Pepper were, and also Clint and Natasha, only to see then break apart for Tony and Natasha to be together. They supposed that if Natasha and Tony were happy then it shouldn't matter, and judging by the way they whispered in each other's ears, smiled at each other, cast looks when they thought no one was looking, it seemed that they were happy enough. Steve and Bruce knew that if they made each other happy then they shouldn't care but they just couldn't stop thinking that Clint was supposed to be with Natasha and Pepper with Tony. That's just how it was supposed to be and it didn't make sense for it to be any other way. However, they couldn't deny that Tony and Natasha were serious when they had both caught them making out with each other in places they thought they'd be alone for a while. After that it was pretty hard to deny that it was happening and they couldn't help but to feel a bit bitter at them. They had after all hurt two of their closest friends and now didn't really seem too concerned about it.

As a way to get out of the judging stares, awkward air, and resentment that seemed to surround the tower, Tony and Natasha had taken to going out as much as they could. Neither of them had heard from either Pepper or Clint and they hadn't tried to contact them. They were wrapped up in each other now and figured that they would get used to actually going out to places rather spending all their time in the tower. It wasn't a shock when paparazzi had spotted them kissing in the park and had an absolute field day with the pictures and rumors of Tony Stark with another woman in his arms. They hadn't really seen who that other one was exactly, quick thinking on Natasha's part to hide her face, and the fact that it was dark helped them from knowing exactly who that other woman was. There were rumors though and her name was sent around but it was nothing confirmed.

After that it didn't take long for cameras to be following them around on a daily bases. Every time either of them would step out of the tower there was someone there with a camera. It didn't take long for a clear picture of Tony and Natasha to be circling around. Pictures of them going to parties, going to and leaving the movies, walking around the park holding hands, and even a couple of Tony dressed in his suit with Natasha in his arms as he was either about to take-off or starting to land. The others didn't like it but they kept their mouths shut until another picture of them kissing, this one clear as day, began going around. The morning that Bruce had come across the picture in the newspaper Tony and Natasha had yet to get out of bed. Both Steve and Thor shook their head at the image plastered of them on the front page. They were calling the two of them the new "Power Couple."

When the two of them did show up to grab some breakfast it was Bruce who thrust the paper in their direction as they stood hanging all over each other in the middle of the kitchen. They separated at the look that he gave them and he frowned as he pointed down at the picture of the two of them.

"Do the two of you not even care that Pepper and Clint are heartbroken right now? That they have to see the two of you plastered all over the news and media? Do you realize it's been less than a week? You could at least pretend that you actually cared for them?" He backed away when he felt his anger rising and headed for the elevator to get some air but turned when Tony's voice called out to all of them.

"If you guys don't like it the door is right there."


	3. Wait What?

**Chapter 3**

Following the harsh comment made by Tony, the rest of the team didn't leave but Thor did decided to go spend the week with Jane and both Steve and Bruce had avoided the couple all day. Deep in their minds they knew that if Tony and Natasha really cared for one another then they shouldn't be angry with them. However, for the fact that the two of them had hurt Clint and Pepper the way they did, it was a bit disheartening and they couldn't find it within themselves to be so forgiving of the fact.

Tony didn't care, or at least if he did he didn't show it. All of that day for him was spent on Natasha's floor with the two of them going through the collection of alcohol, movies, and anything else that caught their interest. It was late that afternoon when Tony began to complain that he was hungry and Natasha had offered to make something for him.

"No offence Red," Tony said as he looked up at her from where he was sitting "but I don't feel like getting some sort of poisoning from whatever creation you'd concoct and try to pass off as food." She rolled his eyes at him until she thought about it for a moment and grabbed her keys from where they were hanging by the door.

"Chinese," she said and was out the door not caring if he agreed or not. It was just her luck that when she had reached the parking garage someone else was pulling in. She recognized the car immediately and inwardly groaned. The last person she wanted to see at the moment was currently getting out of her car with an angry glare on her face. Natasha continued to move towards her vehicle, hoping not to get into any sort of confrontation. It seemed like she would get her wish as Pepper walked passed her but it was short-lived when the other woman's voice cut through the air.

"Are you happy?" Natasha tried to ignore her and just continued walking but Pepper wasn't about to let this go. "I'm talking to you!" she called out angrily and at the sound of her heels clashing against the concrete Natasha paused. She took a deep breath before turning to face her only female best friend, ex-best friend she reminded herself.

"What do you want from me Pepper?" She asked and let a glare of her own take over her features.

"I want to know if you are happy with what you did!" Pepper snapped back at her. "Why did you do this Natasha, you were my friend! I trusted you!" The other woman showed no emotion and that only added to the annoyance that Pepper felt for her.

"I don't have time for this," Natasha replied and turned away from Pepper. Instead of getting into her car she walked right passed it and continued towards the main entrance.

"I guess they did train you well!" Pepper yelled and Natasha froze and turned around slowly.

"What did you say?" She asked the blonde in a completely calm and collected voice.

"The Red Room," Pepper said taking a step forward, "that's wet you called them right? They taught you to seduce men? Well they must have trained you well because you're the biggest whore that I know!" Pepper yelled the last part and thought for a second that she had seen a look of pain flash through the other woman's eyes, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Natasha just stood there for a moment then turned and continued to walk away more hastily than before.

Pepper took a deep breath then turned to entrance of the tower. As she reached the door she took a quick glance over her shoulder but Natasha was completely out of sight. She felt something deep within herself but refused to acknowledge it. Why should she feel any guilt for that woman after what she'd done to her? She continued her way to the elevator, telling JARVIS to tell Steve she had arrived. By the time she reached the common floor of Avengers Tower she had made up her mind, she needed to have a talk with Tony.

"Hey Pepper, how are you holding up?" Steve asked in that gentle voice of his. She shook her head and looked around.

"Where's Tony?"

"I haven't seen him much since yesterday afternoon," Steve replied.

"JARVIS," Pepper said then.

"Yes Ms. Potts?"

"Will you tell Tony to get down here?"

"I'm afraid Mr. Stark is absent at the moment."

"Where did he go?"

"He didn't say Ms. Potts," JARVIS replied "would you like for me to leave a message with him?"

"Only if I'm gone before he gets back, tell him I want to speak to him alone."

"Yes, Ms. Potts." Pepper than turned to Steve.

"So are you available to help me now?"

"Yes ma'am." He said and took a second to place his glass in the sink before following her to the elevator.

It was about two and a half hours later, Pepper had decided to try to wait for Tony to arrive, when finally JARVIS announced his arrival along with Natasha's. Hearing the other woman's name had Pepper getting to her feet and telling Steve and Bruce she'd come back another time. Knowing that the couple would probably use the elevator she made her way to the stairs but was stopped when the door came open to reveal their missing archer. His hair was a bit out-of-place and he looked tired but other than nothing gave away how he was feeling.

"Clint," Pepper greeted but was cut off at the sound of the elevator arriving and both Tony and Natasha making their entrance. Without missing a beat Clint moved past Pepper and towards the two arrivals.

"You two have some explaining to do," Clint said as approached them. "Right now."

"Clint," Natasha started but stopped when Clint raised his hands up.

"Barton!" For a split second Steve thought he would do something stupid but then Clint dragged her into his arms and held her close and she let him. She even returned the favor and everyone was confused. Tony then went to Pepper who backed away from him when he reached out to her.

"What the hell is going on?!" Pepper said as she stared wide-eyed from Natasha and Clint to Tony.

"Uhh," Tony said with a quick glance at Natasha then looked back to Pepper "yeah maybe we should start from the beginning."


	4. From The Begining

_The Start_

He had to suppress the urge to start pacing back and forth as he waited for her to show up. Tony was going through all the ways this could go down and all the different ways that she could kill him if he didn't do this right. He finally chucked all those thoughts out of his head when he heard the sound of the elevator. Before the doors could open he rushed over to meet her as she was walking out. Without warning, before she could say anything, he pulled her into his arms and planted a kiss on her lips. He felt Natasha's whole body stiffen and he chalked it up to them being somewhat friends that she hadn't snapped his neck. It was a quick kiss and again before she could say anything he whispered in her ear.

"Please listen before you move." He felt the muscles in her body suddenly relax into his arms and, much to his surprise the look of absolute fury and confusion melted from her face to be replaced with a smirk and lustful eyes. It was his turn to be confused as she let out a laugh and pushed him up against the wall next to the elevator. He was about to say something but she got up on her toes and cut him off.

"There's someone watching you from the rooftop across the street," she said, the lust in her eyes completely gone and left him with a sense of whiplash. He buried his face in her neck then, both to keep up the act and to also hide his face. He didn't know if the man could see or hear what he was saying but he figured that it wasn't worth the risk and apparently Natasha agreed.

"I know," He whispered.

"Why?"

"Someone's after Pepper," he said figuring he'd stick to the basics. "She's getting off work soon. They're watching her."

"Why would someone be after Pepper?" She raised her chin up a bit to make it look like she was giving him better access and he took the cue and moved his lips up slightly.

"To get to me," he whispered and Natasha could hear the desperation deep in his voice. "Someone has threatened to kill her because she's my girlfriend. They don't want me dead they want to take her from me." She moved her hands from his chest to his shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze for support.

"Calm down," she whispered. After a moment she pushed him back a bit and lifted her eyes up to him. "This isn't going to be easy," she said apparently already guessing what Tony wanted from her.

"I need this to look real for them to believe it," he said and without missing a beat she laughed again and was turning away from him. She looked over her shoulder at him with another playful smirk then reached behind her and slowly unzipped the back of her dress. She let it fall to the floor then spoke up in a normal voice.

"You could join me," to his credit Tony kept up with the act, letting it look like they had just finished an actual conversation. And as much as he loved Pepper, he couldn't say there was much acting as he looked her up and down, in nothing but her underwear, with appreciation because he was a living breathing man after all. He pushed himself off the wall and followed her towards the bathroom. For effect, they locked lips and he wrapped his hands around her waist and walked her backwards into the room before kicking the door behind him. They separated and she waited a few minutes before walking over to the shower and cutting it on full blast. Tony grabbed her a robe to put on knowing she'd want to cover herself now that they had a few minutes alone.

"You can tell birdbrain." Tony said in a soft voice "I don't want anything to happen with your relationship."

"You could tell Pepper," she said "we could stage a fight between us all."

"No," he said "I don't want there to be any reason that these guys don't believe this. I want it to be real. When it's over…she'll understand when it's over." Natasha stared at him for a moment then nodded.

"Ok, we won't tell Pepper," she said "and I won't tell Clint."

"You don't have to…"

"You said you wanted this to be real." She said back at him "so we're gonna make it real." He gave her the smallest of smiles and nodded in return.

"Thanks," he finally whispered after a short silence. "I mean that." She simply nodded in return. He then gave her a full rundown of everything he knew about whoever was after Pepper and after waiting what they deemed to be the appropriate time they both wet their hair and made their exit.

_Getting Caught_

"Are you ready for this?" She whispered as he grabbed her hands. In response he pulled her close to his body and brought his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he dropped his hands to her waist. This was the night their "affair" was going to be discovered. So, when she heard the door open Natasha squeezed Tony a bit to let him know and he initiated a deep kiss. By the time the door opened they were in the middle of a full blown make out session. They broke apart and they both put looks of shock on their faces as they met Pepper's horrified face. Tony felt his heart break at the hurt in her eyes. Natasha couldn't honestly say that it didn't hurt when her only best friend, who was female anyways, had yelled at her. It cut a bit deep to hear the words she had said but it was nothing she couldn't take.

_Dating _

They always made sure that they were being followed by the press when they went out. Since the Battle of New York people already knew who Natasha was so it wasn't that big of a deal to have her picture everywhere, and it was everywhere. They wanted the word to pass that Tony Stark had moved on to be with his new girlfriend Natasha Romanoff, the world was shocked. Now, Natasha wasn't an emotional person by nature but it was a bit disheartening to hear what people had to say about her because she "seduced" Tony or "stole him" from Pepper, and to be perfectly honest, it was killing her to have Clint look at her the way he had. She knew that it was killing Tony as well but in the end it wasn't real. It would be over soon enough anyways.

_Present Day_

The man had finally showed his face. Since they had started this whole thing, the people who were after Pepper had been laying low. Natasha assumed that it was because they wanted to make sure that she and Tony were for real being a couple. They didn't know that Tony knew about their plans to kill Pepper. Fury had stumbled upon the plot and even though SHEILD couldn't be involved because she was a civilian and not exactly a high profile civilian such as Tony Stark himself, he did give Tony the heads up to be aware. He might also have reminded Tony that he had a very skilled spy slash assassin who would be more than willing to help, even though he couldn't hire her personally. Apparently whoever the guy was bought their act because he was watching them again. She had purposely let the men be able to see into her apartment because in return she could catch the gleam of sunlight against their binoculars. The mention of Chinese food was the key word to tell Tony she had spotted them.

She had originally planned to take her car but when talking to Pepper she had spotted two men moving closer to the building. She had to get away from Pepper quickly before they decided to use them both against Tony. Pepper's words then had stung deeply but she locked that away to deal with the mission at hand. She walked quickly out of the parking garage and in only a few steps she felt eyes on her. They belonged to the men now trailing her, one set of eyes she knew would belong to Tony, but there was also another person she had known was watching her all week but had refused to acknowledge his presence.

The men finally made their move as she was walking pass an alley. She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at how predictable it was. They kept a gun to her head as they put handcuffs on her and forced her into the van. Once they reached an abandoned warehouse about an hour later she finally met the leader, Francis Alexander, a weapons expert that Tony refused to do business with in the past and as a result he had no money and was shut down. So, the man had a bit of a grudge. Once she was forced out of the van they had put her in over half of the twenty men were dead. Some from Tony blasting them but others, she noted, had very familiar arrows sticking out of them. She got herself out of the cuffs and let Tony have the kill shot on Alexander. Clint was angry with her she could tell by one look in his eyes but he went back with them, even if he had taken the staircase and not the elevator.

**So, one more chapter to go. I'm still trying to figure out what story to work on next but I'm hoping to have that figured out by the time I have the final chapter finished. Or I could just put up the ideas I have (like the summery I'd use for each one) and let you all vote on what you'd like to read next, I could do that at the end of the next chapter if you guys would like. Anyways, thanks for the reviews/follows/favorites!**


	5. My Apologies

**Chapter 5**

Upon Tony's conclusion the room went quiet and there was a slow tension building in the air around them. Steve and Bruce studied the two couples, both relieved that it was all fake and hoping that the two couples would return to normal now that the truth was revealed. Clint didn't show any emotion at the revelation, however he did step a bit closer to Natasha. The two knew that everything was probably already forgiven between the two of them. Pepper though, she glared at Tony with anger that none of them had seen in her before.

"We'll give you guys a bit," it was Clint that finally broke the silence. He subtly gave Natasha's hand a squeeze then motioned for Steve and Bruce to follow him.

"You don't seem to be too shocked by all of this," Bruce said once the elevator doors had closed. Clint shrugged and moved to lean against the back wall.

"I knew it wasn't real." He said and by the fact that Steve and Bruce continue to stare at him he figured they wanted more so he continued. "I've been with Natasha long enough to know when she's acting or being real, much to her distaste."

"How did you know she hadn't just went with Tony for his money or something?" Steve asked and Clint told the tightening in his chest that it was just a question and to calm down.

"I just knew," he said and looked up at Steve "that's not the type of person she is anymore, not since she left her past behind." Steve thought it best to let that line of questioning die. Clint didn't mention the best kept secret between him and Natasha. He didn't think that she would appreciate him letting it slip before she was ready for it too. The ring hanging from a chain around his neck, only worn when not on a mission, was the major reason he knew nothing serious was going on between Stark and Natasha. He's not her type anyways, and both of them had enough cash stashed away in different bank accounts that she wouldn't have had to seduce him for money. That was another secret they shared only because that money came with a back story, a story neither of them were ready to share yet.

"Why did you act so angry…" Clint cut Steve off with a wave off his hand.

"Tony put Natasha in danger," he replied "I wanted to know why." Steve and Bruce nodded and when the elevator opened up they realized they were on the bottom floor.

"Well I'm thinking that they'll be a while. Natasha will probably find us later do you guys wanna go get lunch?" The two other men nodded and took off.

Back in the tower, the three remaining people stood there and stared at each other a bit awkwardly before Pepper finally burst. She took a step towards Tony, glare still in her eyes, and pointed at him angrily.

"You, what were you thinking?!" She yelled at him.

"Um, that my girlfriend was in danger and I wanted to protect her?" Natasha didn't think that he meant for it to sound as sarcastic as it did but it only fuelled Peppers anger.

"You don't think that it would've been better to let me in on it? I think I should know if I have to keep watch for people who might try to kill me!"

"But they weren't watching you when they thought I was moving on to Natasha," he said gesturing at the other woman as he spoke "that was the whole point."

"You should have told me!" she yelled at him.

"I was just trying to protect you!" He yelled back and Natasha felt like she should leave them be. Really there was no need for her to stick around at the moment. She slowly and quietly slipped from the room to give them their privacy. "I don't see why that is such a problem!"

"You hurt me!" She screamed back at him and at the sight of the tears forming in her eyes Tony immediately went forward and wrapped her in his arms.

"I thought I lost you," she half yelled and half sobbed as she was pulled closer against him. "I thought that I wasn't enough for you anymore."

"Of course you're enough for me Pepper," he whispered to her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I love you and I'm so sorry Pepper. Look at me," he pulled her back a bit so that he could look into her eyes. "I'm so so sorry to put you through that, but I didn't know who these people were. I didn't know how dangerous they were and I didn't want to, I couldn't, lose you like that. I couldn't let you be killed simply because you're the woman that I love." Pepper was furious with him, angry beyond belief, so angry she wanted to hit him and scream at him until she felt better. But his voice dripped with desperation and most of all love and she couldn't help that her heart melted a bit with every word. She felt a tear rolling down her cheek as he continued. "They didn't know that I knew about them so I figured if I made it look like I moved on to someone else that…and Natasha, she knows what to do in those situations. I mean we've both seen the woman fight," he paused when Pepper tensed in his arms and looked down at her. Her eyes were wide and it looked like her breath had caught in her throat. "Pepper…"

"Natasha," she said and looked up at him "Tony I said so many hurtful things to her."

"It's ok Pepper," he pulled her against his chest again.

"No Tony," she said and untangled herself away from him. "I hurt her." She turned away from him but was stopped when Tony grabbed her elbow with a light touch.

"She'll be fine Pepper," he said "I'm sure she understands."

"I mentioned her past Tony," she finally said and stepped back. "You know how she gets when her past is brought up…especially the way I did."

"What…"

"I said that she was a whore because the Red Room trained her so well." She spat out, hating herself for what she had said. The worst part though was that she couldn't even claim that it had slipped out. She knew that it would hurt her, very deep, and that is why she had said it.

"I'm sure she gets why you said it Pep and that you didn't mean it."

"But I did mean it," she said. "JARVIS, where's Natasha?"

"Ms. Romanoff is currently leaving her floor and heading towards the ground exit."

"I've gotta go," she said back to Tony who nodded in response. She turned to get on the elevator but was once again stopped by the sound of Tony's voice.

"Are you going to leave me?" It sound so sad and broken that it almost hurt. She turned and met his eyes.

"I'm so mad at you Tony," she said and he lowered his eyes to the floor "but no, I'm not leaving you." Pepper walked back over to him and kissed his cheek before hopping into the elevator and pressing for the ground floor. "But you get to go pick up all my stuff," she said as the doors closed. Tony just rolled his eyes and smiled, it would take a day or two and possibly a really nice date, but he and Pepper were ok and she was safe. That was all that mattered to him.

Pepper managed to get to the ground floor just as Natasha had entered the parking garage. She rushed to catch up and before she even called out to her the other woman turned to face her.

"I'm sorry," Pepper blurted out. "I'm sorry for what I said Natasha I just, I was so angry and hurt and…"

"It's ok Pepper," Natasha replied but Pepper shook her head.

"I shouldn't have brought up…" Natasha couldn't help the small twinge of a smile as she walked over and put her hands on Pepper's shoulders to calm her down.

"Pepper," the woman went silent "you thought that I had taken the man you love. The man that we spent hours talking about just how much he annoys the hell out of you but loves you anyways. I know how much you love Tony. You know that I know how much you love Tony and you thought that I had betrayed you by taking him away from you. If anyone has to be sorry it should be me." She said and let her hands fall away.

"You were protecting me."

"You didn't know that," Natasha replied. "It's human nature to want to cause harm to those who hurt you. I get it Pepper and its ok, really."

"I'm sorry," Pepper said and Natasha nodded.

"So am I," she replied. Then Pepper pulled her into a hug and after a moment of shock Natasha hugged her back and the two of them separated. "Tony really does love you, ya know?"

"Yeah," Pepper replied with a smile. "I know."

The End.

**Soooo, that's the end everyone! I hope you liked it. Also, I have figured out which story I wanna work on next, yay! First chapter might be up by tomorrow! Thanks for the reviews/follows/favorites you people are awesome! **


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